Promise Not to Tell Another Soul?
by ToxicLaughter
Summary: Dean Winchester has been friends with Castiel Novak since his mother died in a house fire when he was eight. Ever since then the two have been separable. Most of the time Dean would spend the night at Cas' with his younger brother Sammy- especially since his father started drinking. They're the best friends, closet than anyone else they knew. Until one day they weren't. Destiel.
1. Chapter 1

There were times when Castiel Novak would just sit back and day dream, right in the middle of class. No matter if the teacher yelled at him or if they were currently reviewing the things the class needed to know to take a test, he would still close his eyes and just take a moment to think. Over the past ten years his whole life had gone from zero to invaded by heroes. Which he didn't mind. His 'heroes' were probably some of the best people he had ever met in his entire life.

First there was Dean Winchester. An older brother to Sammy, and a strong soul that would do anything for his family. The entire time Castiel had known Dean, the latter had been one of those people who others didn't really like to mess with. It wasn't because he had actually done anything bad (that is if you discounted beating the complete and utter crap out of Zachariah [reasons yet to be discovered]), it was more because of the way he looked.

Then of course his family, which had changed three of four times over the decade he reminisced about. They were all blood related to him; it was just that the people who he lived with had changed. Which he didn't mind. He loved everyone in his family, some more than others, but nonetheless, he could handle every single one of them.

Now back to his favorite of them all. Dean. Dean had a redneck type of appearance about him. Wore a leather jacket, kept his hair short and only slightly messy, even let the scruff on his cheeks grow out a bit. He was average height, but made up for that with the strength he clearly showed. Castiel had found this 'redneck' interesting since day one.

He was seven, maybe eight, when the Winchesters had moved in three doors down. Dean, the eldest son, was his age, and Sam, the younger one, was three or four. Then there was a their father John, a scruffy beat up man who had pain in his eyes, pain that obviously no one could cure. He held Sam in arms lovingly and was holding onto Dean's hand as he walked them through the front door.

Dean had looked so sad, like his whole life had been thrown through a blender than served to him with a fancy little umbrella. Cas had immediately told his father about their new neighbors.

His father, Deus, had just smiled and rested his hand on Castiel's shoulder. He had told Cas that if he felt as though Dean was a hurt soul or a lost one, that he should do something about it. He should talk to the boy, bring him up from his despair and possibly be his friend if he felt as though that would help as well.

Cas opened his eyes, realizing that he had practically fallen asleep and tilted his head up to look at the board. When he was younger he had listened to his father and had become Dean's friend. Something that he considered an accomplishment. Cas didn't have friends, he had close family members. Dean was his first, right along with Sam and Jo who showed up a couple days later.

The teacher was writing something on the board and he squinted, assessing the information before discerning that he should probably write some of it down. He picked up his pencil and scribbled the formula for the force of gravity when dealing with two different objects. He dropped the utensil back on the table and turned around, looking over the other students in his class to spot Chuck Shurley with his tongue out, licking the edge of his lips and part of his cheek, while vigorously writing something in his notebook.

Next to him, Raphael, was glaring at a kid across the classroom, clearly there to stop anyone from laying a finger on Chuck. Raphael belonged to the same church as Castiel, which was very religious and very protective of the people that they associated themselves with. Chuck didn't belong to the church, but since he was the one and only friend of Raphael, he was treated like a god. Cas had seen Raphael, the taller and bulkier of the two, beat various people to a bloody pulp for pushing his only friend into the lockers or taking his notebooks or anything else like that.

Not that Castiel would do anything. He found it rather…wonderful that someone would like Chuck enough to protect him like that. And in turn he'd seen Chuck offer Raphael any help he needed with anything (mostly academic).

Cas waved to them and Chuck must've seen him out of the corner of his eye because he looked up, grinned wildly, and waved with both of his hands. He frowned when his mechanical pencil flew out of his hand and clanked on the floor. He got up to get it, but was forced back into his seat when Raphael stood and retrieved the pencil first. He smiled and nodded his thanks.

There was a reason why Castiel liked Chuck and most of it was because Chuck reminded him of himself, but with less stoic expressions and more worried looks and smiles. Chuck had a hard time making friends, much like Cas, and also kept to himself (minus close friends), much like Cas. They had become mutual friends, but then again not friends, very quickly.

Chuck waved Cas over. He stood and checked to make sure the teacher didn't notice him, and slid to his knees before Chuck's and Raphael's desk- the classroom was equipped with multiple two person desks so they could all have partners (Castiel's nonexistent). "Hello Chuck." He said, resting his arms on the desk, like he had seen Dean do to Jo and other people he knew multiple times before. Chuck gave him a weird look, not used to this type of behavior from Cas and just nodded awkwardly.

"Yeah, hey Castiel." No matter how many times Dean had told Chuck to call Castiel 'Cas', he still insisted on calling the black haired boy by his given name. Which the other didn't mind, in fact he liked being able to hear his name sometimes. Considering his whole family had taken to calling him 'Cassie'. "I wanted to show you something."

He watched as Chuck turned his notebook around and Raphael leaned over to look as well. Cas focused on the drawing in the page before him, tilting his head out of confusion and looking back up at his fellow peer. "I don't get it. What am I looking at?"

"Come on Castiel, you don't recognize them? It's Sam and Dean," He pointed from a tall muscular man in plaid, hair long and almost touching his shoulders, to a shorter but just as muscular man in a leather jacket. They were standing in front of a cabin, which was surrounded by a thick forest. Then Chuck's finger traveled to another character standing next to the one with the leather jacket. "And that's you." The character had black hair, pale skin, and was wearing a trench coat.

"You drew the Winchesters and me? Why?"

"Well…" Chuck went red and looked up to the ceiling, as if searching for an answer in the gray panels hanging above his head. "I was writing this story…and well…I needed characters with good personalities…and you know." He trailed off. Castiel nodded understandingly. "It's about these brothers, Sam and Dean, who hunt ghosts and monsters and stuff. You're an angel, since you know; you were named after an angel. It's a work in progress…" He said the last part once he saw Castiel's brows furrow at the mention of him being an angel.

He stood and grabbed the notebook, taking one last look at Chuck's drawing. It was actually done quite well; the details that Chuck had made were perfect. He rested the journal back before Chuck, grinning slightly and giving him an approving look. "Sounds great. What are you calling it?"

"Uh…Paranormal? That'll probably change sooner or later." He chuckled. "Hopefully sooner rather than later." Cas nodded, and headed back to his seat, catching Raphael making a paper tower out of his class work before rolling his eyes and pulling his cell phone out. Dean had given it to him when Cas turned 14, saying something about him not wanting Castiel to be anywhere where he couldn't reach him. So he graciously took the phone and used it more than not.

He sent Dean a message about lunch, requesting that Dean give Castiel his pudding cup or applesauce, depending on whatever he had brought that day. He got a text back soon after, opening it up and reading through it. He smiled. _Not in a million years angel-man_, had been the reply he gotten and he carefully pressed his ways through the buttons and sent an _Assbutt_ in return. His phone went quiet after that and he soon got bored again.

The clock became interesting and he rested his head on the table, watching as the arms went round and round, waiting for them to stop betraying him and let him leave third hour already. A groan came from him as he rolled his head onto his arm so he could take comfort in the soft flesh. It was like a nice little human pillow. He closed his eyes and rested, not falling asleep, but not being absolutely coherent either.

It had been five- no- six months since Castiel's birthday and six months since Cas and his best friend had become Destiel, as Jo and Sammy called it. Dean hated it. He thought it was childish and stupid. But then again he secretly loved it, because Castiel and he were a team. They were a package. Neither one could be without the other.

Dean had been one of those kids that seemed happy most of the time, always holding Sammy, even when he was real young, and always outside doing something. Castiel had brought the Winchesters a basket of goodies (candy and things) as a house warming gift the second day they were in the house. John had accepted it from him, smiling a fake smile that never reached his eyes and invited Cas and his father inside.

He had found the emptiness of the house fantastic, loving the ability to slide across the hardwood floor when he took his shoes off and was left just in his socks. Sam, still a young toddler at the time, had been walking around the house, holding onto the wall, with Dean standing behind him, a huge grin on his face. Cas had fallen when he saw the other boy, slamming onto his bum and whacking his head on the floor. His father stood and helped Cas up, smiling and telling him to be more careful next time.

Dean was grinning, holding back the snickering that threatened to escape from his lips. Castiel had glared at the other boy, not amused with the mocking that was being sent his way. "_Quiet._" He demanded, rubbing the back of his head.

"_Smooth move Ex-Lax."_ Dean said in reply, helping Sam to a sitting position and walking up to Castiel. He curled his brows and pursed his lips to one side of his face. Cas glared. "_What's your name?"_

_"Castiel."_

_"Cool name Cas. Wanna see my Hot Wheels? Well, they're more like mine and Sammy's, but they're in my room so I call them mine."_ Castiel could see the way the boy's face lit up when he talked. Not about the little toy cars, but when he even mentioned his brother's name. Cas could see a father in Dean, and at such a young age. Castiel hesitantly nodded, looking to his father for approval before heading up the stairs with Dean- who was carefully helping his brother up the steps.

Dean led Castiel through a small hallway and into one of the smaller rooms. The walls were white, there were boxes covering the floor, and in the middle was a small twin bed. For their age the bed was about the size it should be, but Cas found himself wondering why it was smaller than his own, which was a full at the time. He ignored it and waited as Dean tugged a large flat plastic container out from under the bed and opened it to reveal an ocean of plastic and metal cars.

A grin covered Cas' whole face and he plopped to his bum, reaching into the box and pulling out a small SUV that resembled an old style Chevy. "_Awesome," _He breathed.

"_What?" _Dean had looked up from his own chosen car, amazed to hear someone complementing his collection.

"_I-I said awesome,"_ Castiel stuttered out. _"I love cars."_

Dean grinned widely. "_So do I. Let me show you my pride and joy."_ He stood and opened one of the boxes, pulling a plastic cube out and handing it to Cas. He opened the top and pulled a little black car out, holding it out to Castiel who gracefully took it from him. "_It's a replica of a '67 Chevy Impala. My dad has the actual car and he said that until I'm old enough to drive I can keep that,"_ He pointed to the little car. "_As a token. And if it's still in good condition when I'm sixteen, then he'll pay for a new set of tires._" Castiel was shocked to hear Dean speak like he was. His grammar and pronunciation were amazing. Then he saw Dean frown and frowned himself. "_Weird though. Most kids my age don't like cars. And they don't get my obsession with them either."_

Cas just grinned and handed Dean the car back. "_I think it's fantastic."_

A hand connected with Castiel's head and he jerked upwards before grabbing the hand and nearly falling off his chair. Chuck stood next to Raphael, wide eyed and scared looking as the other tugged out of Cas' grip, a steady stern glower focused on Castiel. "Wake up sleeping beauty. Class is over." Cas nodded, looking around to find his back.

"I have it here." He heard Chuck say as he held up the black backpack in front of his face. Castiel thanked him and took the bag. Chuck smirked, nudging Cas in the side, his eyebrows wiggling suggestively. "Day dreaming about Dean I see?"

Castiel didn't care to hid the tint that formed on his ears, only nodded, but held up his hand before Chuck could continue with multiple innuendoes. "Just about when we first met. Nothing dirty."

"Oh Castiel, you're so innocent." Chuck winked and ran up to his locker, a huge smile on his face as the blonde who had the locker under him showed up. Her name was Becky something, Cas knew, and Chuck had been crushing on her since the first day of freshmen year. Dean had already tried multiple times to get the two together, but Becky was some weird species know as a 'fangirl' and Dean had to 'get her away from the slash' before he could have the two date. Whatever all that meant.

Castiel didn't bother with going to his own locker, only tucked his books into his chest, straightened his bag on his shoulders, and rushed to Dea- ahem…fourth period.

**A/N: What did you guys think? Read and Review please! And don't forget to check my other story(ies). **

**Lots of love .**


	2. Chapter 2

This whole bowl cut deal had been a bad idea on Sam's part. The hairdresser wasn't at fault, as much as he would like to blame the angry old woman who had cut his hair, it had been his fault. When the scary woman had asked him what he wanted he choked and mumbled something out. Dean, who had been in the chair at the front of the store, was too busy talking up the receptionist to notice anything or at least help a man out, and he ended up with a stupid looking bowl cut.

Which he got made fun of by Dean and Jo, the other one who had sat by and watched the terrible hairdo happen. He got his revenge on Dean however, whispering to Jo about Dean's flirtatious ways with the woman at the front desk. She had smacked Dean over the head as soon as they got into Dean's Impala. Yelling something about not cheating on Castiel or else she'd gut him. Sam had taken the moment to laugh.

And now here he was, fuming as Gabriel tussled his hair and threatened to go get a bowl from the cafeteria just so he could embarrass the freshmen even more. Sam wacked his hand away with a threatening stare and went back to his food. Next to him Jessica, his sweet girlfriend of a month, giggled and her blonde curls covered her face as she lost control and began laughing out loud. He pleaded with his eyes for her to stop and she made an 'awww' face and hugged him. He smirked at Gabriel.

Dean kicked Sam from under the table they sat at. It was lunch and he had tracked down his younger brother and girlfriend just in case any of the 'douches' of the school decided to mess with the little Winchester, just like he had done every other day of that year. He smiled at Sam, clearly happy for he and Jessica. On the first day of freshmen year Sam had been pretty lonely in his classes, but now that they had been in school for three months, he had a whole ton of friends. Most of them were technically Dean's friends who had taken him under their wing, but he had some freshmen he related with too, like Anna, Castiel's younger sister, and Adam, an outsider who was actually quite smart, just never really talked to anyone.

Next to Dean sat Castiel, hand down on the booth like bench they sat on. Dean lowered his hand as well and Sam smiled. He really liked Cas, and he really liked Cas and Dean's relationship. It was only a matter of time before they started dating, and he knew this from the beginning. Well, maybe not the beginning, but for as long as he could remember. He reached out his leg under the table and his grin grew when he felt that one of Dean's legs were being suffocated by another. He looked at Cas who ignored him and flipped to the next page in the book he was reading (with the one free hand miraculously enough).

"So I heard Chuck's writing a story with you Dean-o," Gabriel said, breaking the silence.

Cas looked up from his book. "Yes, as did I. It sounds interesting."

"You only say that because you're in it too Cassie."

"You're in it too Gabe." Sam spoke up, whacking the still standing senior on the arm. Gabe recoiled and looked hurt. "Hey Dean, where's Jo and them?" Jo and Ash hadn't shown up yet, which was unusual. Dean shrugged.

"If you're worried about them Sammy call Jo. She'll answer."

"Don't call me Sammy." Sam flicked an eye over at Jessica who seemed completely oblivious to the situation. Dean held up his hands in defense. Sam just frowned and slowly wrapped his arm around Jessica's waist. She grinned at him, and Sam's face broke out into a huge smile.

Gabriel rolled his eyes and pushed Dean into Cas, who was pressed up against the wall as the short brown haired trickster squished into their side of the booth. "Damn seats, not even soft." He mumbled whiningly. "They should give us nice velvety seats." He lolled his head back and moaned loudly. "Oh yeah, then I'd come here more often."

"Gabe go jerk off about velvet somewhere else would you?"

A fist slammed into Dean's shoulder and Dean recoiled. Gabe glared and huffed before turning his back on the taller boy, feet stretching off the seat, and the edge of his waist hanging on so he didn't fall to the ground. "Dick." Gabe growled.

Dean rested his head on Cas' shoulder, sniffing his hair and nuzzling his nose into the crook of Castiel's neck. "You changed your shampoo." He said, grinning when Cas went stiff. It always seemed to freak Cas out when Dean noticed the little things. The smells, the half an inch off his hair, the anything. But it made him happy too. Not that he'd ever tell Dean that. "What happened to 'don't ever change'?"

"I ran out of my original shampoo and had to use Gabe's. Does it bother you?" He asked seriously. "I can go buy my old hair wash today after school."

Dean rounded to the side of Cas and smiled at him. "You always worry."

"No I don't."

"Ah that's right," Cas softened when Dean's arm slung around his shoulders and his body was tugged into the other's side. "You made an exception for me." Cas felt his face heat up and touched his hands to his cheek, furrowing his brows as he cold fingers rested on his hot face. "Or at least that's what you said. Not that I'd ever believe you." Dean winked. "Alright, get to class; I'm coming over tonight right?"

Cas nodded. Dean leaned down to touch his lips to Castiel's ear, a weird movement if you asked the receiver of said touch-of-lips, and whispered something before patting Cas on the back and running to the top floor. Only then did he realize that Dean had dragged him to the freshmen hallway. He frowned, turning around and looking for familiar territory. "Dean this isn't funny! I'm running out of minutes*."

**Six Months Ago**

"Cassie! Cassie!" Lucifer, eldest Novak son, yelled up the stairs to his youngest brother, who was currently banging around on the floor. "Get your damn pants on and get down here! Chuck and the Winchesters are getting bullied by Gabriel!" Cas squeaked out an 'Okay' before a louder bang that meant he probably fell on the floor. Lucifer shook his head.

"I'm not bullying them! I'm just…messing with them." Gabriel came in from the living room, a big red hand mark adorned his face and Lucifer held back laughs. "Shut up Luci before I send you hell."

"Still making Lucifer jokes I see!" Dean yelled from the living room. "Way to get creative Gabe!" Sarcasm oozed from his voice and Gabriel glared before running back from where he came from to apparently 'kick Dean's ass'. Lucifer watched, before flicking his attention back to the stairs.

Castiel came bounding down the stairs, never faulting stoic expression still on his face, and gripping to the handrails as his feet slipped out from under him. "Whoops." He whispered, reaching down to remove the socks that were apparently covered in oil, and threw them back upstairs. "I thought I said that I didn't want non-family members." He clunked down the stairs and stood next to Lucifer, staring up at him.

"I invited them, you like Dean's company right? Plus Sam just follows Dean around wherever he goes and Chuck hasn't been over in a while and I thought he was a Winchester friend as well as your friend. Did I do something wrong brother?"

Cas shook his head. "No…I just. I'm glad. Now that I think about, having just you Gabe, and Anna, would be quite boring." He headed towards the crowd. "Speaking of which," He checked to make sure Lucifer was following him before continuing. "Where is Anna?"

"She's on her way with Naomi. I called her and she said they were running late because they had to stop for gas. But they'll be here." Castiel nodded, stopping as he entered the living room.

Dean stood. "Hey Cas." He said quietly, then fumbled around with his jacket and belt before plopping back down on the couch again.

"Hello Dean." Castiel walked over to Dean and Sam, smiling at the younger brother before taking a seat next to the older one. Chuck waved his hand in front of Cas' face, shyly smiling, thinking that he had been forgotten. "Chuck," Cas nodded to him.

"Hey Castiel! What's up? Anything interesting going on in your life right now? I mean, you don't have to tell me, I'm just…curious."

"Nope. I'm just seventeen. Is that interesting?"

"Kinda," Dean said, scooting closer.

When Anna and Naomi arrived they all greeted them with hugs and Anna kissed her brother's cheeks, handing Castiel his birthday present from her and waiting with a huge beaming grin as he tore the wrapping paper to shreds. Inside is a tan trench coat, the third one she's given him, but he just smiles at her and gets up to hug her again. Sometimes he thinks his sister is crazy.

"Cas?"

"Yes Dean?" Lucifer had taken everyone else, including a shy Sam who had been fighting Gabriel when he kept trying to hug the smaller boy and calling him 'Samsquatch'. Dean had taken the opportunity to corner Castiel and loom over him. This had always made Castiel slightly upset. When Dean stood over him like he was some little kid and Dean was a big giant who could squash him at any moment.

Dean leaned against the wall next to Castiel. "I need to tell you something."

"You can tell me anything Dean." Cas looked up. Dean was staring at the floor and he had to smile. It was always kind of funny when Dean got all nervous. It had happened once before when Dean asked Cas about his thoughts on Lisa, an old girlfriend Dean had. The two had made a pact to always tell each other about their possible serious relationships they got involved in.

The taller chuckled. "Okay, but if you kick me out of the house…I get it."

"Oh god, you aren't dating Anna are you? Dean she's 14-,"

"What? No, no, it's something else." Cas sighed, then crossed his arms to let Dean continue. "It's about you, well us actually. I'm not like…you know. But I'm like…you know."

Castiel curled his eyebrows and titled his head. "I'm not following." Dean rubbed the back of his head.

"I uh…" Dean stared up at Cas, smiling when the shorter boy blinked his eyes. They were bluer than he ever thought they were, surrounded by a ring of black that made the watery color pop out at him and it seemed to loosen his tongue because before he knew it Dean was throwing up word vomit. "I like you Cas. Like more than I like Jo, or Gabe, or Chuck. You know, like, like-like. I want to be more than friends and I guess that's what I'm getting at because we've known each other for a long while right now and you know more about me than I do, and-,"

Cas covered Dean's mouth with his hand. A smile graced his lips. "You thought I was going to kick you out of the house for that?" Dean shrugged. "Assbutt." Castiel reached down and grabbed Dean's hand in his, much like they had done when they were real young. But it felt different this time. It felt right. Cas brought their hands up to between them and stared at their fingers. "I want to date you Dean Winchester."

"Blunt as always," Dean leaned down and hugged Cas. "Don't ever change."

**Now**

Now Castiel runs to his next class because Dean is an assbutt and dropped him off in alien territory and didn't bother to even give him directions to his sixth period class. He frowned as he entered the class and saw Uriel sitting in the back of the class. Ignoring the glare from the teacher, and the sound of the bell ringing just as he walked in, Cas took his seat. "Gosh darn it Dean."

**A/N:**

***= So I sneaked this in and I was just going to explain the allusion a bit. In the show he's running out of minutes on his cell phone, I made it so in the story he was running out of literal minutes between classes. Punny…yet stupid. I love it.**

**Plus if you noticed I got a couple more awesome Dean/Cas lines. .**

**There you go though! Let me know what you thought, review ARE love after all. And just so we're clear, I figured since Cas isn't really good on the whole cursing thing I would just have him not curse a lot. The most he'll probably end up saying is assbutt. But other than that, it'll be like little kid curses i.e. "Gosh darn it Dean.".**


	3. Chapter 3

Few things in the world go as much love the Impala did. Obviously Dean compared just about everything to the Impala, it _was_ his baby after all and it _was_ the first thing that he himself could call his own. Then again it was his father's…Never mind that! The first thing Dean loved just as much as the Impala was Sammy. He had practically raised that boy as his son, but he still considered Sam as John's son, so he wasn't really his.

Then there was Joanna Beth, his practical sister. Once they moved he sort of expected to lose contact with her and Ellen, and possibly Bobby too, but instead he found himself seeing the spunky blonde at least once a month. Then Bobby, obviously because the man was his father, and was pretty much the only one who treated him like an adult.

And lastly, _his_, Castiel. Cas was his, whether the black haired stoic boy liked it or not, he belonged to Dean. Not that Dean would even become some sort of crazed possessive boyfriend who stalked Cas if he said he was going out with his friends, but he sure as hell never wanted to let the boy go. He'd never tell Castiel this; the angel named genius would make fun of him until the day he died. So he bottled up the lovey dovey chick flick emotions and instead treated Castiel like he was…well…an angel.

But that didn't mean he'd let his first Baby lose any personal time with him. Which was why every day after school as he waited for Sam to finish his lame study group and for Castiel to stop talking with his teachers about colleges, he'd check the engine, tires, and rev her up a couple of times before jamming out to a couple of mix tapes, banging his index fingers like drumsticks against the steering wheel. And every day Sam would come out and startle him, laughing at his brother before climbing into the back seat.

"Sammy."

"Dean."

Dean would then ask Sam about his day, even though he already knew how most of it went, and would listen as Sam would ramble about chemistry and math, then go on about Jessica and her hair and maybe the type of perfume she had been wearing that day, before Castiel would come trudging out of the school, trench coat laid over his arm and messenger bag slamming against his leg. Dean watched as Cas jumped into the car, hair messier than usual, and frown at Dean.

"Dean, you're not supposed to park here." He repeated that same line every day, and frankly, he was getting tired of it. Dean Winchester had a tendency to break a couple rules, one of them being parking his precious Impala in the teacher's parking lot so he could look at it from practically every class. Castiel thought it stupid, but Dean honestly didn't care, just as long as he could make sure his first Baby was never touched throughout the day. "You know that."

The older Winchester smirked. "Yes, I do." His smile grew when Cas just rolled his eyes and looked out the window. Sammy laughed from the backseat. Dean put the car in drive and pulled out of the parking lot, taking the opportunity as he waited for a moment to arise where he could pull out onto the main street to grab Cas by the belt loop, tug him across the leather seat, and wrap his arm fully around his waist.

Sam saw the movement and quickly made puking sounds. "Gross Dean, get a room."

"Don't need to, this is my car, if you don't like my romantic ways of extending intimacy, get out." Castiel chuckled, stopping as soon as Sam used his puppy dog eyes to try and get him to come to his side. He'd stop laughing, but that didn't mean he'd pull away. Cas sat content, letting Dean drum his fingers on the side of his waist and politely ask him to shift because he was preoccupied at the moment. Because that's how they worked. If one couldn't do something, the other would step in and help out. Why? Because Castiel loved Dean, and Dean loved Castiel. Even if it wasn't in a romantic way they'd still think of each other as family, and would still do whatever they could for the other.

Dean pulled up to his house, parking the car in the garage and reluctantly letting go of Cas so they could both get out. Sam waved goodbye to Castiel and headed into the house, both Winchester sons knowing that their father was out due to the absence of the big gray truck in the garage. Dean shouted something about homework and schoolwork out after Sam but soon just waved him off and rewrapped his arm around Cas' waist.

They walked in silence back to the Novak house, Cas only quietly humming the notes of Canon in D while Dean hummed Guns N' Roses. Their music tastes definitely varied.

Cas didn't bother knocking, just swung the door open and cringed when he heard Gabriel yelling at Lucifer who was apparently trying to defend himself. Castiel looking into the living room with a grimace as he saw Gabriel stand to his feet and scream a curse. In his hand was a black gaming controller, most likely for the PS3 (Cas didn't really know or understand video games). On the floor Lucifer was laughing and repeating the words 'I swear I'm not cheating' over and over again as he gripped his own blue controller.

"Hey guys," Dean said, catching their attention.

"Dean."

"Dean-o!" Gabe ran over and placed a hand on the taller man's shoulder. "I didn't know you were coming over today! Where's Samsquatch?"

"He had homework. It's just me." Dean removed his arm from Castiel's hip and quickly reassigned it to leading Gabe back into the living room to see exactly what game he and Lucifer were playing. It was FPS, something Dean was quite good at, and its graphics weren't that bad. He picked up Gabriel's controller and sat next to the eldest Novak brother, quickly learning the controls and jumping right into the game.

There was a moment of silence between the non-players, but soon Gabe spoke up, catching the attention of Castiel and Anna who had been sitting on the couch trying to read a comic book. "So… Cassie, how've you been?"

"I think you know Gabe."

Anna trotted over, book in hand, and smiled up at her older brothers. "I think he means how have you _and Dean_ been." Cas didn't bother to hide the red on his ears, only shrugged.

"Fine. Same old, same old. However I think Dean's been touchier lately."

Gabriel shrugged. "Makes sense, he wants the D man, and you," He poked at Cas' chest incredulously. "Have not been putting out." Anna hit him.

"Gross Gabe." The two younger Novak's said at the same time. Gabe just shrugged, again, and headed into the kitchen, probably to grab candy or something with a lot of sugar to get his mind off the whole Dean-Cas thing. Castiel felt Anna wrap her arms around his and drag him into the living room. She said nothing, just had him sit on the couch and pulled up her feet to lay them on his lap. He smiled at her and she smiled back.

Anna was a sweet girl, smart as heck too, but Cas had always thought her to be a bit wacko. When she was a baby she thought their father was actually God, not just naming his children angel names because he thought they were cool. And when their father left when she was seven, she blamed the other religious enough families and their children who were also named after angels. And of course there was the big issue with Lucifer and how he was always too rebellious. Luckily Castiel had gotten her to warm up to the eldest brother, which apparently sparked a friendship that could burn down the world if it wanted to.

Dean raised his arms up high above his head, as if the game could sense his erratic movements, and stuck his tongue out as he aimed for one of the other players. They were playing online, at least that's what Castiel assumed, and somehow Lucifer and Dean/Gabe had ended up on the other team. Lucifer had already gotten an excessive amount of kills and a shortage (in Dean's opinion) of deaths while Dean, along with the original efforts of Gabe, had died a multitude of times and only managed to kill a handful of people. In honesty, in was getting on Dean's last nerve.

Cas let Anna shift her whole body around to lean her head against his arm and open her book to get better lighting coming from the kitchen. He rested his head on her bright hair, only raising it when he felt her start to snore. The book she was reading tumbled to the floor and he sighed, knowing very well she would throw a fit because she wouldn't know where she left off. Cas got up, resting her head on the arm of the chair and poked at Lucifer.

The brother looked up and curled his eyebrows. "Anna's asleep, take her to her room." He whispered, gaining a nod from the older brother who stopped the game to get up. Dean shut the system off, yawning and stretching his arms. He stood and walked to Castiel, watching in admiration as Lucifer carefully picked Anna up in his arms, walked her up the stairs and into her room. "She must be really tired; it's not even five yet." Dean rubbed his eyes.

"Ah, man, all that playing really took a toll on me, can I spend the night?"

"You're tired too?"

"Yeah, problem?" Cas shook his head no and grabbed Dean's hand, pulling him into the kitchen.

"At least call Sam and eat some dinner beforehand." Dean nodded, smiling as he leaned against the counter, watching as Cas rushed around the kitchen for the supplies he needed. The phone rang and rang, but soon enough Sam picked up the other line and began shouting into the receiver on his end.

"Calm down Sammy-boy, take a breath geez. I'm staying at Cas' tonight- Yes, I know it's a school night- Well if John comes home then just tell him I'm at Ellen's house- Yes- Eat dinner- Alright, night Sam- Yeah I get it, now go to bed- goodbye Sam." He said the last part with slight sarcasm and stuck the cell phone back into his pocket. Cas had already put a pot of water on the stove and gotten out the ingredients to make spaghetti. Plus…corn? "Cas, why'd you get the corn out babe?"

Cas slightly shuddered excitedly at the pet name and looked up at Dean. "Because," He turned back. Dean touched his shoulder and had Castiel face him once again, raising his eyebrows. "Gabe likes corn in his spaghetti and no one else seems to mind it so I just throw it in there for everyone." The taller of the two's expression went blank. Then, he burst out laughing.

"Fucking weirdo man!" He slung his arm over Cas' shoulder, still laughing. "I'm glad that I'm not the only one with a lunatic family." Dean placed his lips to the side of Castiel's face and went to go get a pair of scissors. He opened the corn and poured it into one of the free pots, drowning the little yellow kernels in water before setting it on a burner. Cas was smiling, unable to wash away the- the, well the complete and utter happiness he was feeling. There were so many reasons he loved Dean.

Him being open and honest with Cas was on the list.

But his hot lips were definitely more towards the top of that particular list.

**A/N: So...I'm not sure where this story is going...if you have any suggestions feel free to leave them...please? Lol, but let me know what you think and shtuff. Oh, and in chapter two I messed up Anna and her age and stuff, so you might want to reread the part of Ch. 2 where Castiel recalls his birthday. Also, one more request, if you want to see John as an abuser, let me know, or if you want me to keep him as a dead beat father who just doesn't show up, let me know. You guys are my muse! So don't be afraid to give me your advice!**


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